She was born in Gordon, northwestern Nebraska on August 21, 1922. She moved to Lincoln, NE when her father became governor in 1941. Dorothy attended Stevens College in Missouri, Radcliff College in Cambridge, MA, and graduated from the University of Nebraska (NU) in 1942. She met John Harrison Gayer at NU and was married August 22, 1942.

Dorothy lived in nine states and two European countries raising her children in Berlin, Germany and Geneva, Switzerland. She and John moved to Germany in 1947 with the State Department, Geneva in 1953 with the United Nations, and returned to the USA, Valley Forge, PA in 1966. They moved to Lakewood, CO in 1971, and most recently the Heritage Club in 2005.

Dorothy was an Alpha Phi, a member of the DAR, on the board of the YWCA - Denver, and a founding board member of the Women’s Bank. She spent many years volunteering for charity thrift shops including La Cache in Denver and credits her lifetime of yoga for her good health.

Among other things Dorothy and her family started Big Country Radio, known as KBCR in Steamboat Springs in the early 1970s. KBCR was the first radio station in Steamboat Springs. Steamboat and the Yampa Valley played a formative role in the lives of her children and grandchildren. Her favorite activities included skiing, hot air ballooning, the rodeo, and family gatherings.

She is predeceased by her husband John on Sept. 8, 2008, her brother Dwight in 1951, and son Michael in 1951. Dorothy is survived by her children John Griswold Gayer and wife Carol of Albuquerque, NM, Diane Elliott Gayer and partner Mary Twitchell of Burlington, VT, and Dwight Harrison Gayer and wife Kathy Gayer of Steamboat Springs, CO; her four grandchildren Christina and Andy Campbell of Iowa, Jack and Tamyra Gayer of Dillon, CO, Kristopher Gayer and Dano Gayer of Steamboat Springs, CO; and her seven great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Any gifts in Dorothy’s memory may be sent to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Inc.